FinalGear.com v4.0 Brainstorm

[Viper007Bond]

The main site's current design is over 2 years old and showing it's age (tables, designed for 800x600, etc.).

I'm thinking having a new Web-2.0ish design in time for 2008 would be a good idea. So, it's brainstorm time. We'll come up with mockups later, let's start with wanted features now.

I'll start with a couple, feel free to add to the list with ideas.

• Wider Content Area: next to no one uses 800x600 anymore, so we're moving to 1024 and/or flexible width (I personally think fixed with would be better, but I'm a horrid designer, so...)
  
  
• Better Google Ad integration: ads were an afterthought. I'd like a design that makes proper room for ads and fit more seemly into the site (i.e. less ugly). Also need room for the square style ads which support video. I'm told they make good income. (no, they don't auto-play)
  
  
• Better episode listings: one big long page per show is meh. Perhaps Shows -> Season -> Episode or something? Better layout is needed here too.
  
  
• Purdy Web 2.0 Javascript: now I'm not saying use it just to use it, but there's so much great stuff that can be done via it (slide out boxes, etc.) Example: http://mootools.net/ (I'd wanna use that package)
  
  
• Post Icons: I think it'd be cool to have like a small little icon next to or in each post based on what it's about (TG, FG, FG.com, etc.).
  
  Maybe even like a "New" tag. Here's a mockup for that:
  
  
  
  Just a image placed as the background via CSS and then some code to mark posts as new per user when they revisit the site.
  
  Or hell, I dunno. I'm not a designer. Just thinking outloud / throwing ideas on the table.

So please, let's get some ideas on the table.

And again, you might as well not bother opening up Photoshop and spending a bunch of time making a mockup as anything that's made now is probably gonna need to be changed later on after we brainstorm more ideas. I mean sure, if you feel you can best suggest ideas via PS, go for it, but don't expect anything outta it (i.e. for it to be the next design).

[ahpadt]

Cant remember the site you linked on IRC the other day, but that is something we definitivly could get some inspiration from.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by ahpadt

Cant remember the site you linked on IRC the other day, but that is something we definitivly could get some inspiration from.

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

• Purdy Web 2.0 Javascript: now I'm not saying use it just to use it, but there's so much great stuff that can be done via it (slide out boxes, etc.) Example: http://mootools.net/ (I'd wanna use that package)

That one?

[ahpadt]

No, it was about cars.

EDIT: http://carfreaks.net/

[Viper007Bond]

Oh, yeah, that one. It's REALLY nice. I'd love to have something as slick looking as this: http://carfreaks.net/content/

[GT-1]

If you need anything Photoshop related, you got me. I'll try constructing a sample page with my ideas as soon as I could.

EDIT: Little sample...


(Sorry for stretching the page a bit)

I know it's a bit too formal and maybe too dark on some monitors (though on mine it looks fine), but I think it's better than the current theme.

I would suggest making a flash variation of the website if it's looks you're going for.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

I think that flexible width would be best, especially for users browsing from a lo-res mobile device - for example, my current resolution is 800X480. It could be just me, though.

[ahpadt]

Just a thought: Dont make the site too black.

[Lilleput]

I'd like to see the front page updated with general automotive news as well as Top Gear / 5th Gear News as the context of the forum is already like 90% Non TV show related. Just get a couple forum members to submit news a couple times a week to make the Front Page a little more relevant.

[Cobol74]

I agree with your list above - please avoid dark backgrounds as yey ar enot easy to read actually. I am colour blind, please remember that it is a widespread affliction and that if you want colour coding. ...

My affliction is red green but there are others.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by GT-1

I know it's a bit too formal and maybe too dark on some monitors (though on mine it looks fine), but I think it's better than the current theme.

I personally like the current white/red/black color combination, but I'm not strongly opposed to changing it.

My monitor though is really dark though and I honestly don't really like total white on black sites. Gotta have some color.

Originally Posted by GT-1

I would suggest making a flash variation of the website if it's looks you're going for.

No, no Flash. Period. (okay, maybe a Flash header, but no Flash content) Any content animations, etc. can easily be pulled off via Javascript. Besides being a lot, lot easier for me to code / update / change, it's also a lot harder to navigate, not as widely supported, etc.

Full Flash sites that are updated on a regular basis are so 5+ years ago. I mean, sure, a site for a video game is good to do in all Flash as it next to never changes and the medium is a big part of it, but for a site that posts news, etc. etc., Flash is a bad idea.

Originally Posted by BerserkerCatSplat

I think that flexible width would be best, especially for users browsing from a lo-res mobile device - for example, my current resolution is 800X480. It could be just me, though.

It'd be easy to make a separate CSS stylesheet for mobile devices. Plus, with going tableless, you could even just disable the CSS stylesheet and read it in standard form (I make a big effort to make the site readable / flowing with CSS disabled).

Originally Posted by Lilleput

I'd like to see the front page updated with general automotive news as well as Top Gear / 5th Gear News as the context of the forum is already like 90% Non TV show related. Just get a couple forum members to submit news a couple times a week to make the Front Page a little more relevant.

Well, to be honest, that's a lot more work and we'll never be a Jalopnik or Autoblog, so why try or re-invent the wheel? I mean, if you want car news, why not go to a site that updates tons of times a day, actually drives cars, etc. ?

I think focusing on one specific subject, in this case Top Gear / Fifth Gear, is best.

[Devon]

Originally Posted by ahpadt

No, it was about cars.

EDIT: http://carfreaks.net/

That sites design is really impressive.

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

I personally like the current white/red/black color combination.

I agree.

[Adunaphel]

Originally Posted by ahpadt

No, it was about cars.

EDIT: http://carfreaks.net/

That site looks really really good yeah. I also like the mockup GT-1 drew, although it's a bit dark for my tastes. Same goes a bit for Carfreaks once you scroll down a bit. The top of the page is really nice and all with the background image, but once you scroll down it gets a bit.... bland...

[Viper007Bond]

Yeah, I love that background image, but once it gets to just black/white, it is indeed bland.

[ViperVX]

I love current gray(ish), red & black on white background.
1. Don't make the new one darker.
2. Don't make it use more bandwith
3. Make it as useful & easy to operate as the current.

I love the idea on carfreaks with full size background image, but those 2 small images (on the left) ruin it completely.

[chvvkumar]

I would like full wide screen support for the site.

[LeMans GTR]

How about we use a picture for the background that changes everytime you log on ( like the header) except, instead of having just red, black and white we can have full colour.

[HondaF1]

In regards to polls being made, how about restricting the poll function to certain users who reguarly contribute to avoid many pointless threads being made as has been the case in the past.

Example: Allow only users who have a certain amount of posts, eg. 500, and who are a regular contributor of discussions to create polls to avoid new users making pointless threads with polls.

Polls can be good if used correctly, not like what happened in the F1 section a few months back.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by HondaF1

In regards to polls being made, how about restricting the poll function to certain users who reguarly contribute to avoid many pointless threads being made as has been the case in the past.

Example: Allow only users who have a certain amount of posts, eg. 500, and who are a regular contributor of discussions to create polls to avoid new users making pointless threads with polls.

Polls can be good if used correctly, not like what happened in the F1 section a few months back.

While totally possible, this has nothing to do with the main site, so this is the wrong place to be posting / discussing this.

But to answer your question, it won't be happening. Instead, I'll just be manually taking away poll making privileges from certain poll whores. *cough*

[HondaF1]

^ ok. Sorry, thought this would be the place to suggest this. My bad